Estate - Fantasia

Dear Templars of Metal, here is the review for "Fantasia"…ESTATE is a band founded in Krasnodar, Russia in 2012, they define themselves as keepers of a tradition of steel, Defenders of a timeless Hard Rockin’ spirit or the new champions of Melodic Heavy Metal if you want!

They proudly state that they are in charge of a mission: To play everyday live and loud Heavy Metal in the vein of classic acts with influences from traditional folk music, 80’s pop music and the glam of the 70’s.

Well, this last quote is perfectly accurate and well described, their first self produced CD “Fantasia” is indeed very much tagged in the FREEDOM CALL/HELLOWEEN happy style (“Hero”) with some orchestrations and melodies borrowed from the balkanic area (“Tarantella” with its medieval Flute) or the hyper cheesy arrangments with the synthetic sound loop (“Holy Land”)

Sometimes ESTATE sounds pretty weird, quirky and out of place, almost like the late SONATA ARCTICA method (the brass section of “Absolutely True” and its shuffle pace) With songs like “The War” or “Silent Dream” luckily ESTATE found in my ear/mind a new credibility and an interesting edge. The positive message is the same yet the obvious vocal qualities of the gifted Mr Alexander Chumakov are better exploited (“The Night Of Asura”) even if the overall impression is still very cliché and heard a million times but in this case, it's remarkably well crafted and finally quite enjoyable. "Fantasia" will be released on December 1 st via Danish label Mighty Music/Target Records and I don’t know how it will be precieved by the Metal audience, in my humble opinion it’s an average effort by musicians with an undeniable dedication and a passionate focus, but very sterile in terms of creativity.

Tracklist:

1. Intro2. Hero3. Tarantella4. Silent Dream5. World without you6. You are not alone7. Absolutely True!8. Holy Land (Fantasia)9. The war10.The night of Asura11. I’d Rather Die